EDMONTON -- Mattias Ekholm could play for the Edmonton Oilers if they can get past the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Second Round, coach Kris Knoblauch said Tuesday.
The 34-year-old defenseman has played one game since March 26. He returned from a seven-game absence because of an undisclosed injury against the San Jose Sharks on April 11, but he left the lineup again after playing just three shifts totaling 1:52 of ice time. Ekholm sat out the final three games of the regular season and has missed all 10 of Edmonton's Stanley Cup Playoff games because of an undisclosed injury.
"Mattias has been on the ice for light skates," Knoblauch said. "He will not be joining us this series. We're hopeful that he can join us next series if we can get to that."
Edmonton leads Vegas 3-1 in the best-of-7 series and can advance to the Western Conference Final for the third time in four seasons with a win in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).
The Oilers pushed the Golden Knights to the brink of elimination with a 3-0 win in Game 4 at Rogers Place on Monday. If necessary, Game 6 will be in Edmonton on Friday.
"I don't think we're looking at how many games left we have in the series. It's a one-game mentality," Knoblauch said. "When we lost Game 3 (4-3 on Saturday) the way we did, it was forget about it, let's move on to the next one."
Edmonton took control of the series against Vegas by winning the first two games on the road. It lost Game 3 on a buzzer-beating goal but bounced back with the shutout victory in Game 4.
The Oilers do not want the series to extend to a sixth game and are looking to close it out on the first attempt.
That's what they were able to do against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, eliminating them on the first try in Game 6. It's also what Edmonton did in its three series wins last year, against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final (six games), the Vancouver Canucks in the second round (seven games), and the Kings in the first round (five games).
"Obviously, there's a lot of benefits of winning that next game," Knoblauch said. “One, you don't give that opportunity for Vegas to put together a string of wins, and then also the ability just to have some downtime, guys can rest and not add on.
"You know, the bumps and bruises through the playoff season as it goes, guys get banged up and it's a physical game, as we've talked about, but I think right now that's an extra benefit."
Extra days before the start of the next round would benefit Ekholm, who had 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) in 65 games. He was a big part of Edmonton's run to the Stanley Cup Final last year, getting 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 25 playoff games while averaging 21:58 of ice time.
In Ekholm's absence, the Oilers have been getting quality minutes out of defensemen Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard, Brett Kulak, Jake Walman, John Klingberg, Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher, who have been used through the first 10 games of the postseason.
Stecher replaced Emberson in the lineup for Game 4. He was a plus-1 in 16:46 of ice time in his first game this postseason.
Walman also has been solid. He was a plus-1 in 16:30 of ice time in Game 4, and in 10 postseason games he has recorded two points (one goal, one assist) and a plus-13 rating while averaging 20:04 of ice time.
That performance has been a continuation from the regular season, when the 29-year-old had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 15 regular-season games with the Oilers after being acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on March 7.
"We wanted somebody that fit our team," Knoblauch said. "Our team, we're good at moving the puck and we've got some offensive players, and we don't want to be a chip and chase, off the glass and go chase it down. We want somebody who makes a good first pass so our forwards can generate some offense, and he's been doing a lot of that."
Walman also has given Edmonton a strong defensive presence Ekholm usually provides. He has 28 blocked shots this postseason, the most on the Oilers.
"One unexpected thing that we found out about him is his competitive side and how many blocked shots he's had, so he's been doing a lot of good things for our team," Knoblauch said. "I don't think we'd be in this position if we hadn't added a guy like Walman and Klingberg to our defense, especially when we're missing Ekholm during this time."
